Overview: Illal Lake is a moderately difficult backcountry route that offers plentiful alpine lakeside camping following an overgrown, buggy hike in. Most vehicles should be able to reach the trailhead.
Summary of Route:
- Type: Out and back, alpine meadow and lake camping
- Rating: 3/5
- Season: Summer
- Length: 12.6km one way
- Duration: 1 night
- Difficulty: Moderate
Access: Access to Illal Lake occurs off of Highway 5, shortly after Coquihalla Pass at exit 228 onto Coquihalla Lakes Road. After exiting Highway 5, take a right turn at the first stop sign you encounter, followed shortly thereafter by a slight left onto Tulameen FSR. Tulameen FSR will take you the entirety of the way to the trailhead and is in excellent condition as of July 2024. At the time of writing, essentially any vehicle can drive this road; however, smaller vehicles should watch out for potholes. If visiting Illal Lake on a weekday, be aware that active logging occurs in this area. After travelling Tulameen FSR for approximately 18.6 km, you will encounter the parking lot of Illal Lake on your right at GPS coordinates 49.53070, -120.96229. Punching the foregoing coordinates into Google maps will take one on the appropriate route.
The Hike:
Once you have reached the parking lot you will notice an overgrown logging road to the north. You will be following this decommissioned road for approximately 4 km. While this section is becoming quite overgrown with alders and, without further work will likely be completely overgrown in several years, it is still currently very easy to follow.
That being said, when you reach the below depicted opening, be sure to exit the meadow to the hikers right as opposed to attempting to continue forward through the brush.
Following the overgrown road walk, this hike begins in earnest with a 643 meter climb over approximately 5 km. The first 1.5 km of this ascent are forested, and in early July 2024, were very buggy. Fortunately, before long you’ll find yourself out of the trees and entering the meadows. While the bugs don’t particularly improve, wind is more prevalent in the meadows and the views help lessen the damper that incessant mosquitoes can cause.
Once in the meadows, camping opportunities abound. The first sizable tarns can be found at approximately 5900 feet in elevation and are depicted below. If visiting early in the season, snow cover may make trail finding hard; however, proceed west to the obvious saddle and you will be heading in the correct direction.
Should you be able to locate the trail, you will pass multiple other small tarns and eventually reach Illal Lake. Illal Lake is the largest on this hike, with Jim Kelly Lake being a close second, and puts you in a position to enjoy the western views over Coquihalla Pass. While there were no other campers in any part of Illal meadows on our visit, Illal Lake is reported to be relatively busy on summer weekends and any of the many tarns or Jim Kelly Lake will make suitable alternatives for those looking to camp with a little more solitude.
Once a suitable campsite has been found, consider hiking nearby Illal Mountain or Jim Kelly Peak. Both of which are supposedly suitable for hikers; however, neither of which was completed on our visit to this area.
While this hike can be done as soon as Tulameen FSR is clear of snow, we recommend waiting until late summer to gain some respite from the bugs that are notorious to this region in early summer. Dogs can manage this hike and water sources, particularly in early summer, are plentiful throughout.
Looking for more alpine lake hikes? Consider our Blanca Lake or Fowl Lake hikes!